Sins of the Father

Experimental fusion of Ravenloft and Mage.

Elaanas Diary Day 3

I dreamed this night. These were not pleasant dreams but not quite nightmares. I dreamt that I ran, I ran further than I thought possible. All the while being chased by some unseen advesary… an unseen yet very familiar adversary. As I stopped running I looked up and and three towers loomed in the distance; each with a different banner. What ever was chasing me also paused, and as I turned around to get a better look I awoke drenched in sweat. Prophecy, past, or neither. I’m not certain. It certainly seemed important, however.

Maybe I’ve signed on for more excitement than I had originally thought. Today I had a visitor. He wore vestments similar to Charsen’s but his demeanor and behavior was nothing like the gentle Charsen. He asked me many questions and I answered them the best I could. He seemed to be hunting some kind of demon that had recently come to town although I don’t think he took too kindly to my presence either. Something about his tabard bothered me as well, but I have no recollection of why it would.

As the weather began to turn sour a town meeting was called about this demon that had come to town. I decided to go to learn not only about whatever may have come to Vallaki, but also more of this forceful man that had come and was chasing it. While he spun a tale of teeth and claws and other demonic abilities Charsen and I spotted a figure leave the church and make a beeline for the local Inn. Gathering Reynard and Kadar, we went to investigate and found a broken window and muddy footprints. I ran off following the foot prints bound and determined to reach the creature first. Something instinctively told me that this creature was less of a threat than the man that followed it. We eventually caught up to it as it bound up onto the roof of a nearby building. Its movements were quick and graceful, not unlike that of a large cats. While Reynard and Kadar went one way I ducked around back and saw her climbing back down the backside.

What I saw was a girl… well, not truly a girl. Something between a scared animal and a girl, yet she frightened me not. She seemed reticent to follow me, but I pulled down my own cloak and revealed my own alien features. As we heard footsteps approaching from around the mill she finally took my hand and we raced through the pouring rain back to my hut. Once we were inside I asked her what her name was. She looked confused, my guess being unaccustomed to civility, and finally replied simply enough with, “Kailen, my name is Kailen.“

It wasn’t long there was another pounding at my door and the man who had been chasing Kailen demanded to be let in. I said nothing but grabbed a hold of my mace and gestured to Kailen to get ready for bloodshed. This went on for a minute or so before I heard the man arguing with Reynard. Reynard asked me if he could come in, promising that the chaser, Christoph, would not be allowed to enter. As Reynard entered the room Christoph did try and force himself inside, but we managed to shut the door and lock it. The pounding began again, and my door would not last long. When Reynard saw the situation I could see the difficult choice he had to make. Finally he grabbed his sword, stood back, and opened the door trying to shield Kailen and myself.

Christoph burst in, and before I could react, he dealt Reynard a deadly blow. I tried to position myself between Christoph and Kailen but I knew that he would not spare his hand to get to her. Luckily Charsen was also there and he hit Christoph hard enough in the back of the head to knock him out. I grabbed a hold of Kailen and convinced her not to kill the paladin, telling her it would only bring more problems for all of us. I helped Reynard to the bed and began treating his wounds, all the while helping the healing process with a little jump start. Charsen appeared to be very ambivalent about what he had done… but in the end I believe he to was confident in his decision. He said he would take the unconscious Christoph back to the orphanage and tell him that we had fled.

I knew our life was in his hands… and I needed to know something. “Charsen,” I asked, “if it meant protecting us, would you lie?” He looked thoughtful for a moment and finally acknowledged that yes, he would lie, to protect us. With that he gave us recommendations of places to go but did not want to know exactly where we would flee. After a quick goodbye he left with the unconscious Christoph, and Kailen, Kadar, Reynard and myself prepared to head back to the ruined city of Vokor.